Scissors having handles with flexible loops



Aug. 12, 1958 c. H. HARTER 3 5 SCISSORS HAVING HANDLES WITH FLEXIBLE LOOPS Filed Feb. 10, 1956 v Z Ail-a1.v

CAM/Q1. ES H HZ7E7'EE,

' INVENTOR.

BY A As' firrmA sys .1 22026; K755, as'r-Ee 'Afflee/s fornia? V p Application Fehr-uaryltl,1956, Serial No.,564,685

relates "in general to scissors T he' pres'ent' in ntio v o s'cissors having handles with a m rt ul rly;

flexible loops, a primaryobjct of'the inventionibeing to provide improved scissors of vthis nature. I

Mo re particularly, a primary; ject 'ofthe invention is 'to' providef scissorshavin'g handles with universally flexible loops, the term universally flexible, as used herein, meaningfleixible in all directions. Scissors have been proposed which are iproyidedlwith loops formed of links interconnected ,by :pivo'ts parallel to the pivotal interconnection offthefihaiidles of the scissors. With this prior construction, theloopsare'fle'xible only toward and away'from" the" handles in a direction perpendicular to the axis of pivotal interconnection of the handles. Scissors have. l.also been. proposed having loops made of leather straps which are,,flexible only toward and away from the handles of the scissors in a direction perpendicular' to the- -axis of pivotal interconnection of the handles.

to the axis of pivotal interconnection of the handles,

and in every other direction.v As will become apparent, because o'f-"tlie universally flexible loops of the. present invention,- "rn y scissors-have -advaiitages' and are"cap'able of performing functions not attainable with scissors heretofore proposed.

While other materials may be utilized for the universally flexible loops of the scissors, I prefer to employ universally flexible metallic loops and, more particularly, universally flexible chain loops. Further, I prefer to employ ball chain for the universally flexible loops of the scissors of my invention.

In connection with the foregoing, an object of the invention is to provide a pair of scissors having pivotally interconnected handles which carry releasable ball chain couplings by means of which the ends of the ball chain loops are connected to the handles. With this construction, the lengths of the ball chain loops may be varied to suit the requirements of the user, which is an important feature.

The present invention, as hereinbefore outlined, has particular utility when embodied in suture snips for use by surgeons, although it will'be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. One advantage of the present invention when embodied in a pair of suture snips is that the flexible handle loops are collapsible to permit the snips to be carried by the surgeon in a sterile condition in a container not much larger than the average fountain pen. Consequently, the snips are always readily available to the surgeon in a sterile condition, which results in a considerable saving of time when the surgeon desires to remove sutures from a surgical patient in a hospital, for example. The importance of this advantage will be appreciated when it is recognized that, in the average hospital, it frequently requires fifteen to Patented Aug. 12, 1958 twenty minutes for the surgeon to obtain a pair of sterile suturelsnips which will fit his hand properly. With the present invention, the'surgeon always has a pair of sterile suture snips immediately available, and a pair which will fit his hand. 1

Another important advantage of the present invention i s'that the universally flexible handle loops permit the surgeon to get a much more secure grip on the snips than has heretofore been possible, which has obvious advantages in removingsutures since it virtually eliminates any possibility of pain or injury to the patient in cutting the sutures. The better grip on the snips attainable with the present invention results from the fact that the universally flexible loops may be wound tightly around the surgeons thumband third finger, the tension of the loop around the third finger being controlled by the second I finger and the snips being braced by the forefinger or index finger on the'point of pivotal interconnection of the handles of the snips, all as 'will be discussed in more detail hereinafter with'reference to the accompanying drawing. v

The foregoing objects, advantages and features of the present invention, together with various other objects, advantages and'features'thereof which will become apparent, may be attained with the exemplary embodiment of the invention illustratedfin the" drawing and described in detail hereinafter. Referring to the drawing:

, Fig. l is a sectional view of a carrying case containing, in sterile condition, a pair. of suture snips embodying the presentinvention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the pair of suture snips;

Fig. 3 is a plan view illustrating the manner in which the suture snips of the invention are held by the surgeon (or other user in the event of an embodiment other than a pair of suture snips); and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the suture snips of the invention in use. Referringto the dr awing the numeral 10 designates the suture snips or. scissors of the invention disposed in a container ,12 which may be filled with alcohol, or other substance, to maintainthe snips in a sterile condition. It will be seen that the snips occupy a small space, the container 12 being not much larger than an ordinary fountain pen so that it may be carried in the surgeons coat pocket if desired. The container is shown as including a barrel 14 having thereon a clip 16 adapted to be hooked over a coat pocket, or the like, the barrel being provided with a removable cap 18. Preferably, the barrel 14 is provided with a liner 20 of glass, or other suitable material, and is provided with a false bottom 22 biased upwardly by a compression spring 24 which projects instruments in the container 12 upwardly above the barrel 14 upon removal of the cap 18 so that the instruments may be removed readily. It will be understood that instruments, not shown, other than the snips 10 maybe carried in the container. If desired, the barrel 14 of the container may be provided with a window 26 therein so that the contents of the container may be viewed through the transparent liner 20.

It will be understood that the container 12 per se forms no part of the present invention, having been illustrated and described primarily for the purpose of illustrating the degree of compactness attainable in a container for the suture snips or scissors 10 of the invention, which will now be described in detail.

The suture snips 10 include two handles 30 which are pivotally interconnected at 32 and which include the usual blades 34. The handles 30 and blades 34 may be of any desired shape and size, those illustrated being characteristic of suture snips. In accordance with the present invention, the handles 30 include shanks or ing universally pivotal connections between the handle shanks 36 and the ball cha'inloop's4'0 at the freeends'38 of the handle shanks. The other ends of the ball chain loops 40 are pivotally connected in a universally pivotable manner to the handle sha'nks36 at points 44 intermediate the point32 of pivotal interconnection of the handles and the free ends 38 thereof; As shown, the ball chain loops 40 are provided with eyes 46 which'a're linked with eyes or loops 48 on the handle shanks 36 to provide? universally pivotable connections.

While the scissors 10 of the invention may be held in various Ways, depending on the p'articular scissorsdesi'g'n and the particular use intended, the present invention has particular advantages when held in' away about to. be described for use as a suture snips. Referring to' Fig1'3 of the drawing, the surgeon inserts his thumb through one J of the loops 40 and inserts his third finger thr'ough'the other loop. Then, as shown' in. Fig; 4 of the drawing, he presses his second finger against the loop 40 through which his third finger is insertedto wind such loop tightly around his third finger, and places his index'or forefinger on the point 32 of pivotal interconnection of'th'e handles 30. This has the effect of 'winding' the other loop- 40 securely around his thumb,lias illustrated in. Fig.'4,of the drawing. By gripping the suture snips or'scissors 1'0 of the invention in this fashion, the two loops 40 are securely wound around the 'users thumb and his third finger and the snips are securely braced by the forefinger on the point 32 of pivotal. interconnection of the handles 30. Consequently, the snips10 become almost an in tegral part of the users hand so that a surgeon can cut sutures quickly and accurately with virtually no possibility of pain or injury to thepatient.

In connection with the foregoifi'gm'ode' of useof'the scissors 10 of the invention, it will be noted that if the loops 40 are too long to fit the users hand comfortably and properly, they may be shortened by cutting off as many balls from the ball chainloops as required to obtain the desired length, the ndballs being held by the couplings: 42-1. :Th'us, .the::user:ean,.tailb1z,thenloopsi4'ti' to meet his own individualrequirements, which is an important feature. 7

As ,her'einbefore outined, thev scissors. 10foccupy a very small space since the loops 40 collapse fully so that they may be carried or stored in a small space, such as in the'container 12.

Although I have. specifically disclosed an exemplary embodiment of the invention herein,it will be understood that various changes, modifications and substitutions may be incorporated in this embodiment, as alongthe-lines hereinbefore outlined, without .dbpd'rting from. the. spirit of theinvention as defined inthej patent claim PEflari'ng hereinafter. i i

. I claim asmy invention: I

A pair of scissors having pivotallyiinterconnected' handies provided with ball; chain couplings vat the nee; ends thereof and provided with ball jchain'loopsj each conheated at one end" to one of said ball chain couplings and at its other end to the. handle carrying, such coupling, at a pointinte'rmediate such coupling and the, pivotal interconnection between. said handles, said ball chain coupl'ings being-releasable to permit various lengths of said loops to be held;

- References Cited infile or this patent '.UNITED STATES BATENTES Germany v.. Nov. "24, 1952 

